Dreaming back to 1949, the great powers were there to deceive us

Jiang Zhen left, but he left behind an invitation letter, inviting Lao Hu to attend the ceremony on October 10st.

The powerful handwriting on the invitation letter is majestic, as if it encompasses the vast landscape.

The only regret is that Lao Hu can’t recognize some of the words on it clearly.

He has no problem with the neat traditional Chinese characters, but if they are a little sloppy, Lao Hu will not be able to recognize them all.

The invitation letter was handwritten by the leader himself. Old Hu weakly fantasized that he could also climb up the city wall. Even if he just stood in the corner, it would be enough to bring glory to his life.

After Hu Zhenhua laughed foolishly for more than an hour, Zheng Xipo arrived.

Jiang Zhen was not aware of the economic war. Like Lao Hu, he was busy first trying to fleece the US and then the bear, and had no time to take care of other things.

Zheng Xipo did not come empty-handed. He brought with him bags of things. As soon as he entered the door, he laughed heartily and placed the things he brought on the table with his own hands in a show of achievement. If there was no room, he would pile them on the floor.

He said as he swung,

"Chairman, these are all produced by our Chongming factory and cover all aspects of life!"

Hu Zhenhua had been watching his movements.

Wow, the office has become the Yiwu small commodity market.

Nail clippers, lighters, tin frogs, chainsaws, toilet paper rolls, pens, televisions, radios...

Lao Hu even saw rice cookers and soy milk makers.

Zheng Xipo picked up a pack of instant noodles and said with emotion,

"This stuff is really convenient as military rations. Soldiers can just boil some water and eat hot food!"

Hu Zhenhua looked at the thick kraft paper packaging, shook his head slightly, and asked,

"Haven't we introduced a polyethylene production line? Why can't we produce plastic film now?"

Zheng Xipo spread his hands and said,

"This is your company's product, and you're asking me?"

Hu Zhenhua was speechless. It was indeed inappropriate to ask the local officials about his own company's products.

Strictly speaking, polyethylene was invented in 1933, and its industrial production was realized two years later. However, due to the immature production process and low production capacity, unfortunately, the outbreak of the two world wars caused the polyethylene produced to be mainly used in the military field. The large-scale popularization of polyethylene was after 1951.

Zheng Xipo picked up the rice cooker again and said,

"This is a great product! You don't know how well it sells for export! It's a hassle-free way to make rice or porridge! You can even set a timer!"

Hu Zhenhua had no interest at all and interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"Old Zheng, that's enough. I'll take a look at these things later. I called you here today because of something happening in the Magic City. You're the financial advisor there. Tell me what's going on. Why has the price of grain tripled so outrageously?"

Zheng Xipo put down the rice cooker in his hand, picked up the kettle, and answered nonchalantly,

"Some unscrupulous merchants are hoarding goods and engaging in short selling. We actually had a way to deal with them from the beginning, but then we realized this back-and-forth tug-of-war was endless, so we decided to use their tactics against them, lure them into a trap, and catch them all in one swoop! Don't worry, they won't be able to keep going for much longer!"

Hu Zhenhua understood and felt relieved. He thought about it and still felt uneasy, so he asked,

"Food prices have risen so high, can ordinary people afford it?"

"We have a relief agency that will lend food to those in need. When the price drops, they can buy food and return it to the relief agency. As long as the people don't go hungry, it's not a big problem!"

Seeing that Zheng Xipo was about to introduce the electric kettle, Hu Zhenhua said,

"I'll take a look at these things you brought later. Prepare a few of each of these little gadgets. We have a delegation coming to visit Big Brother, and these can be given as small gifts to the delegation!"

Zheng Xipo put down the kettle, sat on the sofa, and asked a soul-searching question:

"Who's going to pay for it? Let me be clear, the county government is broke!"

Hu Zhenhua stared at him coldly for a long time before looking away and said unhappily,

"Old Zheng, I really didn't realize you've only been the county magistrate for a few months, yet you're so stingy. Don't think I don't know that the county's tax revenue and land rental income last month was as high as 20 million yuan. How could you be so short of money?"

When Jiang Zhen heard that Old Hu had snooped into his family's assets, he immediately jumped up and started complaining.

"With high income comes high expenses. Road construction, water and electricity supply, schools, hospitals, public security—which one doesn't cost money? And with the recent establishment of the Environmental Protection Bureau, we'll have to build over 20 sewage treatment plants, not to mention everything else. It's all a financial burden!"

Zheng Xipo lowered his voice and continued,

"Also, our troops are sweeping across the southeast. Can we not show our support? Millions of troops, the daily expenditure of money and food is an astronomical figure. If the autumn harvest hadn't arrived, the soldiers would have had to fight on an empty stomach..."

He was talking non-stop when Hu Zhenhua interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"The delegation is going to Polar Bear to buy equipment. This is top secret! Bring some small gifts and establish good relationships. Maybe you can trade a lighter for a rifle. This deal is absolutely worth it! I don't care how hard it is for you. Find a way to squeeze out 200,000 Mi Yuan, and I'll give you another 300,000. This deal must be done!"

Zheng Xipo showed a bitter face and continued to complain.

"We're so broke! The founding ceremony is coming up soon, and our county has donated a batch of supplies. To get the money, I even mortgaged my tax revenue to the Chongming Development Bank. We're tightening our belts and squeezing as much as we can. Now, any project with an expenditure of over 2 yuan must be voted on by the Standing Committee! You're asking for yuan all at once, and it involves a confidential project. I can't even tell the Standing Committee members. How can it possibly pass if it goes to the meeting?"

Hu Zhenhua is not a three-year-old child, how could he possibly believe his lies? This guy keeps crying poor and wants to take advantage of others.

Old Hu paused and said,

"Old Zheng, you may be able to fool others with this, but you can't fool me! Even though Jiang Zhen is the top leader, he has no time to inquire about county affairs. You have absolute control over the Standing Committee, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to approve a sum of 200,000 yuan!"

Zheng Xipo's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot when he heard this, and he retorted,

"We are a democratic centralist system. How come you make me sound like a dictator?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You might not be a dictator, but you have too much power, and that's not a good thing! If you don't believe me, go back and try again. Just say this is a confidential project that requires a $200,000 grant and see if you can get it approved!"

Zheng Xipo had no doubt about the truth of this statement. The team members were all familiar with each other, and it would not be too difficult for him to force a resolution through.

He can guarantee to be selfless, but what about the next county governor?

"Chairman, what do you say we should do?"

"It's simple. Legislation should limit the power of the top leader and allow for multiple channels of supervision, especially bottom-up supervision. The public has sharp eyes..."

After Hu Zhenhua said a lot, he realized that he had gone off topic and quickly changed his words.

"Hurry up and gather the money to purchase supplies and ship them to Tianjin Port. The visiting delegation may be leaving soon!"

Zheng Xipo saw that crying about poverty had no effect, so he rolled his eyes and said,

"Can Liu Anmin lend me some money?"

"Go find him yourself. I won't interfere!"

Zheng Xipo bared his teeth, he seemed to be very resentful towards Liu Anmin, and complained,

"You just said I was stingy, but Liu Anmin is actually the stingiest. Asking him for a loan is like asking for his life! After all, it's just issuing banknotes, so what if you print a few more?"

Hu Zhenhua couldn't stand it any longer and said,

"You were once a bank president, yet you actually said something so irresponsible. Can you just issue banknotes? Do you know..."

Zheng Xipo left in a depressed mood. Not only did he not get a penny, he was also scolded.

He doesn't care about being scolded, he is thick-skinned enough anyway. The key is that he still has to pay 200,000!

This is really killing me!

……